An ocean away from their kindred in Africa, a group of invasive hippos roaming the Colombian wild has garnered quite the controversial reputation. The river-dwelling mammals don’t exactly belong in this environment, yet an estimated 91 of them currently inhabit the Magdalena River basin in Colombia.
As the hippo’s numbers burgeon, the scramble to curtail population growth has reached a boiling point. The consequences that have arisen from the hippos’ presence, scientists warn, will only amplify if the animals aren’t dealt with swiftly.
But how did these hippos get there in the first place, and why do they have scientists worried?
